You and Me
by Lillibet426
Summary: It's Severus' birthday and he's waiting for her...


**Hello ladies and gents!**

**It's been awhile and for that I'm deeply sorry. Things have been rather difficult in my life over the last few months and work has, as always, taken up most of my time. I wrote this piece when I was on my two week break for Christmas and I wanted to post it for Severus' birthday – as some of you know my computer broke and I couldn't get access to some of my data, well good news, I have my computer back with all the data I thought I was going to lose. Thanks Baz! Anyway, this takes place after Deathly Hallows and I suppose it could be a spinoff of the characters I've developed in First Cut (the piano is of course featured in it!). **

**Speaking of First Cut, I've written the next two chapters but I just need to find the time to type it all up. Problem is I'm quite ill at the moment and probably will be for some time to come so trying to use my computer is very hard for me – my orders are to only use a computer for two hours a day... considering my work includes using a computer 40+ hours a week I try to stay away from computers at home. However, some good has come from this for me as I've started drawing again (hope to upload some of my work) and I've started to learn to play the violin. I'm in a flurry of creativeness as I try to stimulate my brain and keep my hands working and despite all the crap going on around me, I'm rather enjoying it! **

**Anyway, please let me know what you think of this. I love connecting with you all and I hope to continue to do so. I hope you are all well!**

**With very best wishes**

**Rex x**

**AN 11/06/12: Just a quick note that I feel I should add. Although these characters are similar to the ones I'm writing in First Cut this is not a give away to the end of that series. I know people might feel like it is but just to set the record straight I can confirm that this is not the way First Cut will end. I may use elements of You and Me in First Cut but I can assure you, the ending is already planned and is very different. **

**So Songbird101 if you're reading this, thanks for your review and I understand your feelings but I promise First Cut will still be full of surprises :D x**

**-x-**

Title: You and Me

Author: Lillibet426

Rating: T (just to be safe)

Summary: It's Severus' birthday and he's waiting for her...

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the story idea and the piano!

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**You and Me**

Severus kept to his room from the moment he woke. His breakfast had been waiting for him on the floor outside his bedroom door but thankfully he hadn't seen anyone when he quickly snatched it into his room. Sitting in his favourite chair he ignored the cards and letters waiting to be opened and drank his coffee slowly. He glanced up at the time piece on his wall and he felt his spirits lift slightly. It was 9.45am, she would be getting off the train.

He picked up the Daily Prophet from his breakfast tray and opened it to find his own face peering up at him. He scrunched it up tightly in his hands and threw it over his shoulder with a growl. Couldn't they just leave him alone? Hadn't it been long enough? He glanced back at the time piece and let out a frustrated sigh. Only three minutes had passed since the last time he checked.

Bored and looking for something to do before she arrived, he glanced about his room. His eyes lingered on the piano she had returned to him when she found him alive. He remembered the night she'd destroyed it, blasted it to pieces with a well placed hex despite its significant connections to her past. She'd been so angry with him but who could blame her? When all was said and done, regardless of his reasons, he'd killed her boss, her mentor... her friend. He would be lying if he said he wasn't surprised when he awoke one morning to find the piano standing in the corner of his room.

He stood up carefully and reached for his walking stick before shuffling toward the piano. He sat down in front of it and touched the keys with his fingers, stroking each one lovingly. On closer inspection he could see fine lines in the polished wood where the repairs hadn't quite been able to completely disguise all the damage. Deep down, he preferred it that way, on the surface a beautiful functioning instrument while inside pieced together by a string of magic. Much like its owners.

He itched to play the magnificent instrument everyday but for the time being, it was forbidden. He heard the slat on his door clang open and a harsh voice barked through.

"No playing!" The warden shouted and Severus shot him a dirty look.

"I'm not," he growled but regretted it immediately. He coughed around the raspy words and the warden opened the door to rush over to him. Severus pushed him away and rose from the piano. "I'm fine," he said more softly and moved away from the warden. The warden hovered in the room for a moment before the sound of footsteps drew him back out into the corridor. The door had been left open and Severus heard the warden angrily discussing something with someone.

"I'm sorry ma'am but I must insist..."

"I'm not standing out in the cold while you pussyfoot around boy." Severus smirked at the sound of her voice and he slowly made his way to the door. He leaned heavily against the frame as he watched the warden trying to decide what to do. "I'll wait here while you check with your superiors shall I?" The warden glanced back at Severus and walked quickly to find a doctor.

"Bullying the staff?" Severus asked and she gave him a frustrated sigh.

"You'd think you were in prison the way they treat your visitors around here, not a hospital!" She walked toward him and Severus brushed his hand over her cheek.

"It's good to see you Minerva," he said and she smiled.

"I brought you something," she said, her eyes twinkling.

"I hope it has something to do with what I'm thinking," he said suggestively and Minerva chuckled.

"You are impossible," she said and Severus shrugged his shoulders. "Are you going to invite me in?"

Severus stepped aside and Minerva stepped into his room. He walked with her to his window seat, leaving the door open as per the rules.

Minerva slipped out of her robe and dug through the pockets to find a small package. She placed it in Severus' hand and motioned for him to open it. He gave it a distrustful look.

"It's not going to explode on you Severus," she said and he frowned at her. "Open it."

He carefully lifted the lid on the box and he felt it shake slightly. He frowned at Minerva again and after a moment he removed the lid and watched the box grow into a windup gramophone. He glanced over at her and she smiled.

"I thought that seeing as though they won't let you play the piano at the minute that you could listen to it instead. I'm sure they wouldn't have a problem with that." She took it from him and placed it on a chair in front of him.

"Where did you get it?" Severus asked, watching her slide an LP from the under-box.

"It was my uncle's," she said as she placed the disc on the pin. Severus couldn't help the smile that tugged at his mouth and he shook his head.

"Is how you get rid of all your unwanted belongings? Pass them off to the fool?" To anyone else his words might have seemed ungrateful but he knew Minerva would understand. She always did.

"Your words, not mine," she responded with a grin and Severus snarled at her.

"I'm an ill man Minerva, you shouldn't be treating me thus," he said, wrapping his arms around his body.

"Then I assume you'll be too ill to do what I had in mind next," she said with a teasing glint in her eye. Severus watched her a moment, trying to figure her out.

"Depends on what it is," he said cautiously. Minerva smiled and stood up. She offered her hand for him to take and he allowed her to bring him into the middle of the room. He watched her wave her wand at the gramophone and music began to play. The music registered with Severus immediately and he felt his body start to tingle.

"I hope this is going to lead to what it did originally," Severus whispered as he wrapped an arm around her waist and took her hand in his. Minerva chuckled as they began to move gently to the music and she rested her head against his.

Severus could feel himself swaying in time to the music but he was more aware of how close they were standing. It had been too long since he'd held her, too long since he'd smelled that unique feminine smell and kissed her soft skin. He tightened his arm around her and he felt her snuggle into his neck.

14 years ago on this very same date, they'd danced together like this. Held each other the way they'd always wanted to and finally fell into what they most desired. Their relationship had been casual, more a deep friendship than anything else but their love making had been passionate. He thought about her every moment of the day, even when it was inappropriate, he just couldn't get her out of his mind.

The longer their relationship went on the more he fell for her and it wasn't until he'd returned as headmaster did he realise just how much he loved her. The separation has been torturous for him, the constant pushing away and his hideous behaviour almost killed him when he saw the look of hate in her eyes. He'd lost count of the times that he'd almost broke down and confessed everything to her. Only Albus had managed to rein him in, had it not been for the man in the portrait, who knows what would have happened.

He felt Minerva untangle herself from his arms and Severus frowned down at her when he realised what she was doing.

"The music stopped," she said gently and Severus nodded. She led him back to the window seat and coaxed him to sit next to her. She covered his hand with her own and Severus felt it's warmth through his entire body.

When he'd been found in the Shrieking Shack his first request had been to see her but he was denied. At first he'd assumed that she just didn't want to see him but he soon found out that it was because he was to stand trial for war crimes. He'd been dragged from deaths grasp to spend six months in a cold, dark cell the size of a broom closet. He hadn't seen the point in trying to hold on and on more than one occasion someone had been called to nurse him back to near health. He thought it a waste of time, they only left him to deteriorate again and when he'd told the young healer that he'd replied with 'I want to see your kind hang'. To be honest it hadn't bothered him much to hear the young wizard say such a thing, he didn't blame him... sometimes the same thoughts ran through Severus' mind too.

He glanced up at Minerva and rested his head against hers. It wasn't until the horrid day that the Potter boy visited him in his cell did he even entertain the thought of seeing the one person he still thought about, before he was taken to the noose. Apparently, the Order of Phoenix had taken up the cause of setting the 'fearless double agent' free. And it was led by none other than the Boy Who Lived himself. Severus had snarled at the thought and told the boy to stop his fruitless pursuit. But of course, true to fashion, he didn't. Severus had battled with his feelings on the subject since he'd been set free. He'd been given another chance, his second, second chance. However, this time he was going to live his life as he wanted to. And despite Potter assuring him that they were now even, Snape couldn't help but feel like he still owed him something. The thought didn't sit well with him.

"Come back to me Severus," Minerva whispered and Severus pulled back so he could look into her eyes.

"I'm here," he whispered back, his damaged vocal cords breaking slightly from his silence. He brought his hand up to her cheek and he watched her eyes flutter shut. She was the only person he permitted into his room, the only visitor he wanted and every now and then she would march him to the family lounge to see members of the Order, despite his protests. "I don't want to see anyone." Minerva opened his eyes and gave him a tiny smile.

"I told them you were tired," she said with a chuckle and Severus let out a sigh of relief.

"Minerva I..." he paused, words he had so desperately wanted to say to her but he knew he shouldn't. They'd always had a long standing agreement during their dalliance before he'd betrayed her, that what was felt would never be shared out loud. He'd been fine with the unspoken rule until she'd first walked into his cell in the last month of his incarceration. He loved her, had loved her since the day he'd first kissed her. He knew that she was reluctant to tell him how she felt, perhaps unsure of how she really felt even after he had been declared a hero. They had become friends again, slowly and she had been the first to kiss him again but did she still feel passionately for him? "Minerva..."

"I know," she said, cutting him off with a somewhat sad smile. Severus felt his stomach drop but his need to tell her how he felt grew stronger.

"I want to tell you how much I..." but before he could she stopped him again.

"You don't have to," she said, running her fingers across his cheeks. "I know."

"But I do, I want to." He moved her hands from his face and used his cane to stand up. He began to pace along the floor, stopping every now and then and self-consciously touching his neck. "I know that that year, I know that I treated you badly... I said things and I..."

"None of that matters now," she said and Severus could see the worry in her eyes as she watched the cane shake precariously under his weight.

"But it should because I want you to know that I'm... I'm sorry for what I put you through. You have no idea how desperately I wanted to turn back time, to hold you again and see your smile directed at me again. I missed you! Every day we spent together I missed you even more."

"Severus..." she made to stand but he shook his head.

"Please let me finish." He once again touched his neck, thinking about his second, second chance. "Before we ended our affair I was... I was beginning to have these feelings... You infuriated me all the time," he said with a scoff and Minerva chuckled. "But despite wanting to shake some sense into you sometimes I came to realise too late that I had, in fact, fallen in love with you."

Severus looked toward Minerva and he could see her eyes begin tear at his words. He hadn't meant to make her cry but he hoped these were good tears and not those that would lead to a letdown. He slowly made his way to her and caught the first tear that fell with his thumb.

"I hope it's not too late to tell you this but..." he sighed and held her hand in his. "I love you."

Minerva just stared at him for a moment until suddenly she laughed and stood up to throw her arms around his shoulders in a tight hug.

"Oh Severus," she breathed into his ear gently. "I never thought I'd find another man who really understood me for who I was. Someone that could look passed the facade and see the breathing woman underneath. I didn't even know she was still there until..." she blushed and Severus knew she was thinking about their first foray into the affair. "You brought that woman back, gave her new life... and I cherished every moment we had together."

"Please don't tell me there's a but coming," he said as she pulled away from him. He was relieved when she chuckled and shook her head.

"As much as I think that you need a good slap in the face for what you've put me through; I too have come to the conclusion that I love you." Her words rung in his mind and for a second Severus couldn't breathe. She loved him. Never in his life had someone said that to him and now that she had, he felt like he could conquer the world. He was brought out of his reverie when he felt her lips trailing across his jaw slowly.

"Say it again," he said hoarsely and he felt her smile against his cheek.

"I love you Severus." He felt a wave pass through his body but for life of him he couldn't figure out what it was. Instead of dwelling on it he tilted his head and captured her lips with his.

At that moment there was a loud commotion outside in the corridor and as they pulled apart a bustling group of people bust into the room.

"Happy birthday Severus!" Everyone shouted, not paying any notice to what they might have interrupted. Severus looked down at Minerva with a scowl and she untangled herself from his arms. The Order raced toward him and patted him on the back and pushed gifts into his hands.

"Is this one of those times you find me infuriating?" She asked with a smile as the others began to set up food and drinks around the room. Severus placed his gifts on his bed and reached a hand to caress her cheek.

"No," he said gently and with a smile. "I think this might be my best birthday yet."

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**Well, I hope you enjoyed it. Please let me know what you thought and hopefully I'll have the next chapter of First Cut out in a few weeks xxx**


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